When Hockey Canada released its roster for the World Junior team selection camp earlier this week, one notable absence was Penguins 2019 first-round pick Samuel Poulin.
Before the roster was released, Poulin's head coach Stephane Julien told Le Journal De Quebec he thought Poulin at the very least earned a spot in camp, and had a 50-50 chance of making the final team for the tournament.
Instead, Poulin was left off of the camp's roster completely. He is currently dealing with an upper-body injury, but he's expected to be back in the lineup before the camp starts next week.
In an interview with TVA Sports, Poulin said he was surprised by being left off of the camp roster.
"I think I could have received an invitation," he said in a French-language interview. "I think I could have helped the junior team. There are not many players with my style of play. However, it's not me who makes the decisions and the leaders have their criteria. "
Poulin said that his focus remains on his season with the Sherbrooke Phoenix and his relationship with the Penguins, and he'll remain hopeful for a shot at the tournament next season.
"I know it's a great tournament and it's special to represent your country, especially since most hockey fans watch the event," said Poulin. "I would have liked to be able to take part in the tradition. But I will have the opportunity to next year. "
Poulin's coach Julien also has high hopes for Poulin's future in next year's tournament and beyond, as he told La Tribune.
"It will not change anything in his career," Julien said in French. "I'm surprised to not see Samuel Poulin on the roster even though he's only 18 years old. In fact, I believe that Hockey Canada's leaders will not hesitate for a second to invite him next year. Many players had an excellent world championship at age 19 after being ignored at age 18 and many have also had a great career in the NHL despite everything. "
Julien said that he believes Poulin is underestimated, but that he'll benefit from the two-week break.
Here’s how the rest of the Penguins’ prospects in juniors, college, and Europe did:
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FORWARDS
Judd Caulfield
Position: Forward
Size: 6-3/207
Shoots: Right
Drafted: 2019, fifth round
Team: North Dakota (NCAA)
Season totals: 12 games, 4 assist
Caulfield picked up two assists in two games this week. He forced a turnover on the second assist:
Liam Gorman
Position: Center
Size: 6-3/196
Shoots: Left
Drafted: 2018, sixth round
Team: Princeton (NCAA)
Season totals: 10 games, 3 assists
Gorman recorded an assist in two games.
Filip Hallander
Position: Center/Wing
Size: 6-1/190
Shoots: Left
Drafted: 2018, second round
Team: Lulea HF (SHL)
Season totals: 2 games, 1 assist
Hallander fractured his leg in his second game of the season and is expected to be out until at least Christmas. He got the cast off of his leg in early November and resumed skating last week.
Nathan Legare
Position: Right wing
Size: 6-0/205
Shoots: Right
Drafted: 2019, third round
Team: Baie-Comeau Drakkar (QMJHL)
Season totals: 27 games, 13 goals, 15 assists
Legare scored one goal and three assists in two games.
Linus Olund
Position: Center
Size: 5-11/183
Shoots: Left
Drafted: 2017, fifth round
Team: Brynas IF (SHL)
Season totals: 19 games, 1 goal, 4 assists
Olund was scoreless in two games.
Nikita Pavlychev
Position: Center
Size: 6-8/225
Shoots: Left
Drafted: 2015, seventh round
Team: Penn State (NCAA)
Season totals: 8 games, 2 goal, 4 assists
Pavlychev appeared to injure his right leg on Nov. 15 and hasn’t played since. He's been "day-to-day" during that time.
Samuel Poulin
Position: Wing
Size: 6-1/207
Shoots: Left
Drafted: 2019, first round
Team: Sherbrooke Phoenix (QMJHL)
Season totals: 23 games, 16 goals, 21 assists
Poulin was scoreless in two games and sustained an upper-body injury on Saturday. He's expected to be out of the lineup no longer than a week. He was not invited to Canada's World Junior team selection camp.
Valtteri Puustinen
Position: Wing
Size: 5-9/183
Shoots: Right
Drafted: 2019, seventh round
Team: HPK (Liiga)
Season totals: 26 games, 9 goals, 10 assists
Puustinen picked up three assists in four games, including this great pass:
DEFENSEMEN
Calen Addison
Size: 5-10/180
Shoots: Right
Drafted: 2018, second round
Team: Lethbridge Hurricanes (WHL)
Season totals: 28 games, 7 goals, 19 assists
Addison was scoreless in three games. He was invited to Canada's World Junior team selection camp.
Santeri Airola
Size: 5-11/165
Shoots: Right
Drafted: 2019, seventh round
Team: SaiPa (Liiga), Kettera (Mestis)
Season totals: 2 games with SaiPa; 7 games, 2 assists with Kettera
Airola was scoreless in two games for Kettera.
Ryan Jones
Size: 6-2/186
Shoots: Left
Drafted: 2016, fourth round
Team: Nebraska-Omaha (NCAA)
Season totals: 12 games, 2 goals, 4 assists
Jones and Omaha did not play this week.
Antti Palojarvi
Size: 6-1/172
Shoots: Left
Drafted: 2017, sixth round
Team: Lukko (Liiga), Lukko U20 (Jr. A SM-liiga), Hokki (Mestis)
Season totals: 5 games with Lukko; 14 games, 3 assists with Lukko U20; 7 games with Hokki
Palojarvi played three games with Hokki and was scoreless.
Clayton Phillips
Size: 5-11/183
Shoots: Left
Drafted: 2017, third round
Team: Penn State (NCAA)
Season totals: 15 games, 2 goal, 6 assists
Phillips was scoreless in two games this week.
William Reilly
Size: 6-2/196
Drafted: 2017, seventh round
Team: Rensselaer Polytech (NCAA)
Season totals: 14 games, 6 goal, 6 assists
Reilly was scoreless in two games.
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